Department for Transport

London-Exeter Railway Line

Lord Patten: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon on 14 December (HL4088), what proposals they have also to consult travellers who use the railway line between London, Salisbury and Exeter.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: Network Rail undertook public consultations for a period of 90 days on the Wessex and Western Route Studies prior to their publication in August 2015.The Government expects to set out in July 2017 its investment plan for the railways during 2019 to 2024 (CP6). The Office of Road and Rail (ORR) will undertake public consultation as part of the process to develop plans for CP6.

Motor Vehicles: Exhaust Emissions

Baroness Randerson: To ask Her Majesty’s Government why their representatives at the Technical Committee on Motor Vehicles voted on 28 October to weaken and delay the introduction of real driving emissions tests for air pollution emissions by diesel light duty vehicles.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: Government officials voted to secure the best possible outcome on the 28th October. This meant ensuring that real driving emissions tests will be introduced as early as possible and so make a significant contribution towards lowering emissions of nitrogen oxides from light duty diesel vehicles.

Road Traffic Control

Baroness Wolf of Dulwich: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon on 14 December (HL4061), what checks are in place to ensure that Regulation 6 of the Local Authorities' Traffic Orders (Procedure) (England and Wales) Regulations 1996 is complied with; who is entitled to complain if that Regulation is not complied with, and to whom; and what penalties are incurred by local authorities or London boroughs for failing to comply with that regulation.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: There are no checks in place to ensure that local authorities comply with the Local Authorities’ Traffic Orders (Procedure) (England and Wales) Regulations 1996, including the duty concerning consultation. Anyone can complain if they consider that the authority has failed to comply with their duty. Complaints should initially be raised with the authority concerned, and if they are not satisfactorily addressed, they can be raised with the Local Government Ombudsman. Alternatively, failure to comply with the consultation requirements in regulation 6 would be grounds for bringing a legal challenge against an order under paragraph 35 of Schedule 9 to the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984.

Motor Vehicles: Exhaust Emissions

Baroness Falkner of Margravine: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in making their decision about how to vote on the implementation of real driving emissions tests at the 28 October meeting of the Technical Committee on Motor Vehicles, whether they took into account (1) estimates from DEFRA and Public Health England that pollution from mono-nitrogen oxides is responsible for 23,500 premature deaths in the UK per annum, (2) the 2010 estimates from the WHO suggesting that air-pollution related deaths cost the UK $83,069 per annum, (3) the failure of London, Leeds, and Birmingham to maintain nitrogen dioxide levels within legal limits over the past five years, and (4) the Supreme Court’s ruling in R (on the application of ClientEarth) v Secretary of State for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs [2015] UKSC 28 on 29 April that they should take immediate action to tackle air pollution.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: The Government is committed to taking action on vehicle emissions testing that restores consumer confidence and delivers our wider air quality and climate objectives. We strongly support the current Real Driving Emissions agreement, which is expected to significantly reduce average real world NOx emissions from new diesel cars from 2017. It makes type approval requirements for diesel vehicles significantly more stringent by requiring manufacturers to ensure real-world emissions are maintained below 2.1 times the laboratory-testing limit in 2017 and at or below the laboratory-testing limit by 2020 (with a margin for measurement uncertainty). Issues relating to vehicle emissions are considered in the context of the UK Government’s plans for air quality. More detail is set out in the air quality plans published by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on the 17th December.

Motor Vehicles: Exhaust Emissions

Baroness Falkner of Margravine: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the failure of London, Leeds, and Birmingham to maintain nitrogen dioxide levels within legal limits over the past five years, what assessment they have made of whether relaxing emissions standards for cars is compatible with public health and legal requirements to control urban pollution.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: The Government is committed to taking action on vehicle emissions testing that restores consumer confidence and delivers our wider air quality and climate objectives. We strongly support the current Real Driving Emissions agreement, which is expected to significantly reduce average real world NOx emissions from new diesel cars from 2017. It makes type approval requirements for diesel vehicles significantly more stringent by requiring manufacturers to ensure real-world emissions are maintained below 2.1 times the laboratory-testing limit in 2017 and at or below the laboratory-testing limit by 2020 (with a margin for measurement uncertainty). Issues relating to vehicle emissions are considered in the context of the UK Government’s plans for air quality. More detail is set out in the air quality plans published by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on the 17th December.

Motor Vehicles: Exhaust Emissions

Baroness Falkner of Margravine: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what response they made to the October 2014 findings by the International Council on Clean Transportation that some vehicles were producing emissions at seven times the legal limit.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: The Government did not respond to the findings of the ICCT. This research confirmed the importance of ongoing work by Department for Transport officials on the development of a new European regulation to address issues around real world driving emissions.

Home Office

Electronic Surveillance: USA

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the decision of the Investigatory Powers Tribunal in the case of children A and B in relation to Prism, heard on 10 December.

Lord Bates: The Investigatory Powers Tribunal (IPT) and any decision it makes are entirely independent of Government. The Home Office was not a named respondent in the case and we have made no assessment of the Tribunal’s decision.

Department for International Development

Developing Countries: Small Businesses

Baroness Hodgson of Abinger: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether there are any two-way secondment programmes in place in the Department for International Development to foster a comprehensive understanding of small business development.

Baroness Verma: DFID does not have any secondments in place with small business. Its two-way secondment arrangements with the private sector have been with larger firms, including a current inward secondment from Glaxo Smith Kline and a previous outward secondment to John Lewis.Aside from secondments, DFID recruits from the private sector, contracts in private sector expertise, benefits from pro bono arrangments with a number of firms, and maintains close partnerships and dialogue with the private sector.

Developing Countries: Small Businesses

Baroness Hodgson of Abinger: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether any of those staff at the Department for International Development involved in small business grant funding have hands-on experience of business development.

Baroness Verma: DFID employs cadres of sector-specific technical experts in a range of disciplines in order to provide intellectual and professional rigour to underpin our poverty reduction work. DFID has a cadre of over 80 private sector development advisers who lead our work to support private sector growth, including small business grant funding. Over 80% of private sector development advisers have worked in the private sector, bringing to DFID a first-hand understanding of business development.

Department for Education

Academies: Performance Standards

Lord Watson of Invergowrie: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether, under the proposed definition of a coasting school in the Education and Adoption Bill, an academy cannot be found to be coasting until the fourth year after it has been established despite three years of performance data being available.

Lord Nash: An academy will be subject to the same coasting definition as a maintained school. Our proposed definition would identify a school as coasting where data shows that it is failing to fulfil its pupils’ potential over a three year period. As long as the academy has three years of validated results, which may date from before the school converted to an academy, it may be notified it is coasting before the fourth year of its operation as an academy.

Schools: Performance Standards

Lord Watson of Invergowrie: To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they expect the validated results for 2016 (1) Key Stage 2 assessments, and (2) GCSE and equivalent qualifications, to be available in order to calculate whether a school will need to be notified that it is coasting.

Lord Nash: The 2016 key stage 2 results will be published in December 2016 on GOV.UK. These results will be used to identify coasting schools, in conjunction with corresponding data from 2014 and 2015.The 2016 key stage 4 (GCSE and equivalent) results will be published in January 2017 on GOV.UK. These will also be used to identify coasting schools, in conjunction with corresponding data from 2014 and 2015.

Department for Communities and Local Government

Social Services: Expenditure

Lord Warner: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what was the expenditure of each local authority with adult and children's social care functions (1) in total, (2) on adult social care, and (3) on children's social care, and what are (2) and (3) as a percentage of (1), in financial years 2010–11 to 2014–15 inclusive; and what are their forecasts for the same expenditure and percentages for 2015–16.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: Data on the expenditure on adult and children's social care functions (1) in total, (2) on adult social care, and (3) on children's social care, in financial years 2010-11 to 2014-15 inclusive; and their forecasts for the same expenditure for 2015-16 by local authorities are published online in the Revenue Outturn Social Care and Public Health Services (RO3), and the Revenue Account (RA) budget forecast which are available at the following link:http://www.gov.uk/government/collections/local-authority-revenue-expenditure-and-financingThe most recent revenue forms and guidance notes are available at:https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/local-government-finance-miscellaneous-forms#revenue-forms

Regeneration: Greater London

Baroness King of Bow: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Williams of Trafford on 8 December (HL3999), when they expect to publish the Savills report on the regeneration of local authority estates in central London.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: A copy of the report will be placed in the Library of the House in due course.

Regeneration: Greater London

Baroness King of Bow: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Williams of Trafford on 8 December (HL4006), how much Savills has been paid for its report on the regeneration of local authority estates in central London.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: The information regarding the cost of the report is commercially sensitive and therefore cannot be released. However, the Government has paid a contribution towards the cost of the research which was less than half of the full amount.

Regeneration: Greater London

Baroness King of Bow: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Williams of Trafford on 8 December (HL4000), whether they will place in the Library of the House a copy of the tender specification for the research by Savills on estate regeneration in London commissioned by the Number 10 Policy Unit.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: The tender specification for the research by Savills on estate regeneration in London commissioned by the Number 10 Policy Unit will be placed in the Library of the House in due course.

Local Council Tax Support Schemes Independent Review

Baroness King of Bow: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many candidates were interviewed for the post of chair of the independent review of the localisation of Council Tax support schemes.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: The position is a Ministerial appointment based on the provisions in the Local Government Finance Act 2012. A range of potential candidates were considered by Ministers. Ministers selected the chair on the basis of:interest and expertise in local government and/or welfare;their background and understanding local government; andtheir willingness and availability to conduct the review within the timescale.

Floods: Housing

Baroness Bakewell of Hardington Mandeville: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many homes have been built on flood plains in each of the last five years; and how many homes have been granted planning permission for building on flood plains.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: This Government takes flood prevention extremely seriously and we are investing £2.3 billion in flood defences over the next six years, as well as protecting flood maintenance spending in real terms over this Parliament.We have put in place strong safeguards to stop inappropriate development in areas at risk of flooding, and are delivering the homes this country needs by taking forward plans to build homes on suitable brownfield land.The Environment Agency provides advice on whether or not to grant permission, with latest figures showing 99% of proposed new homes had planning outcomes in line with their advice, but final decisions rest with local authorities.The Department does not collect figures for the numbers of homes for which planning permission for building on a flood plain has been granted.

Social Services: Living Wage

Lord Warner: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Prior of Brampton on 19 November (HL3563), what provision was made in the 2015 Spending Review in the Department for Communities and Local Government allocation for local authorities in 2016–17, and in each subsequent year, for the introduction of the National Living Wage.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: Spending Review decisions took the National Living Wage into account along with a range of other financial and economic factors. I refer the noble Lord to the provisional local government finance settlement, published on 17 December, which builds on the Spending Review outcome and also took account of pressures on adult social care. Policies to provide funding for social care include:The social care precept in council tax, which puts money raising powers into the hands of local areas who understand the need in their area and who are best placed to respond. This could raise up to £2 billion a year for social care by 2019/20;Making an extra £1.5 billion available for social care by 2019-20 in an improved Better Care Fund – with funding going direct to councils to ensure health and social care services work together to support older and vulnerable people;More than doubling the Disabled Facilities Grant to over £500 million a year by 2019/20.

HM Treasury

EU Budget: Contributions

Lord Kilclooney: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what was the total payment made by the UK to the EU in 2014, and what was the total payment by the EU to the UK agricultural industry in that year.

Lord O'Neill of Gatley: The UK’s net contribution to the EU Budget in 2014 was £5.71 billion. This is the UK’s total contribution to the EU, reduced by the cash rebate and the money the UK receives from EU funded programmes.The total receipts to the UK agricultural industry from the EU were £3.16 billion in 2014. Under this, £2.60 billion was for European Agricultural Guarantee Fund (EAGF) (CAP pillar 1) and £0.60 billion for European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD) (CAP pillar 2).These figures are available publicly in HM Treasury’s EU Finances 2015.

Department of Health

Learning Disability

Baroness Hollins: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the remit and funding of the National Learning Disabilities Mortality Review of premature deaths in people with learning disabilities includes a review of the investigations carried out by NHS Trusts into unexpected deaths for that patient group; and if not whether they intend to alter the remit.

Lord Prior of Brampton: The Learning Disabilities Mortality Review Programme is managed by the University of Bristol on behalf of NHS England. The contract with the University focusses on supporting local reviews of premature deaths of people with learning disabilities; the investigation processes and draws together learning from the reviews. The remit for this work does not include a review of the investigations undertaken by NHS trusts into unexpected deaths for this patient group. There is no current intention to alter this remit.The current programme is piloting local reviews of premature deaths of people with learning disabilities, as the first stage of rolling these out across England by 2018. These reviews will be the key first step to ensure local processes are in place to inform the co-ordination of future investigations of premature deaths of people with learning disabilities by NHS trusts. There will be clear protocols put in place to ensure that any unexpected deaths are subject to a multidisciplinary review, covering the totality of the person's care, to assess the causes of death and any actions which could have been taken to prevent that death.The Mortality Review Programme will provide strategic support for the local review process, develop a core data set for use by local review teams and support both the development of action plans in response to a death and the identification of recurrent themes at local, regional and national levels. The case reviews will support health and social care professionals, and others, to identify, and take action on, the avoidable contributory factors leading to premature deaths by people with learning disabilities whilst the identification of regional and national themes will inform wider action.